Council addresses concerns, approves MOU

In a brief but effective meeting on Tuesday night, the Green River City Council recognized a dedicated volunteer, heard a citizen's concern about the surfacing at Scott's Bottom and approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Green River and Sweetwater County School District No. 2.

Outstanding volunteer 

Sean Deichmueller was recognized by the City Council for his outstanding community service over the last 15 plus years. Deichmueller has volunteered, mainly as security, for Flaming Gorge Days, The Crystal Classic, Art on the Green, The River Festival, and the Run with the Horses Marathon. Mayor Pete Rust commended Sean for his commitment to the community and positive attitude.

Walking surface concerns 

Local Green River resident Pat Doak brought his concerns about the crushed asphalt on the walking trails at Scott's Bottom to the council. Doak, who said he has been walking in that area for 30 years, said that the newly added surface is difficult to actually walk on.

"It is one of our nicest areas around town. Crushed asphalt is a bad idea," Doak said. "It is easier for me to walk down there if I step around that stuff and not actually walk on it. It's unstable, like walking on marbles."

Councilmember George Jost said he had recently walked at Scott's Bottom, and the surfacing did not seem to bother him. However he recognizes it is different for each individual and that, unlike Doak, he had not been walking at Scott's Bottom for 30 years.

Mayor Pete Rust explained to Mr. Doak that the Greenbelt Taskforce are the ones who primarily maintain the trail systems and that he would address it with them to inquire whether or not there were plans to possibly grate the trail or do further work on it. 

Updated agreement with district for SRO program 

The City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the city and Sweetwater County School District No. 2 at Tuesday's meeting. At an earlier meeting in October, it was brought to the attention of the council that a formal agreement between the city and the district had not been updated or modified since 2006.

According to Chief of Police Shaun Strulaugson, for many years the Green River Police Department and SCSD No. 2 have been engaged in a collaborative arrangement to staff school resource officers (SROs) at schools within the district. This arrangement was set up based on a shared awareness between the city and the district that the presence of a school resource officer on school grounds would increase safety and security for students and staff. Entering an updated MOU will ensure that the SRO program continues to operate in the best interest of both the city and the district.

As stated in the SRO MOU document, some of the updates include the city agreeing to employ two full-time police officers as school resource officers, the school district reimbursing the city one and one half of the wages and benefits of the officers, and the school resource officers assisting the administrators in developing plans and strategies to prevent dangerous situations, amongst many other agreements. The full document can be found at grwyo.org under the City Council Agenda attachment for the Nov. 19 meeting.